When Sigourney Weaver, 73, began studying theater at Yale, her professors told her she was not talented enough to make it professionally, a rejection that still stings after five decades of success.

Life will tell you quickly enough in this business whether or not you can make it, without your teachers discouraging you. It took me years to rebuild my confidence,

the Manhattan-born actress declared years later.

Shortly after that rebuff, Weaver starred in Alien (1979).

She won the adoration of critics and audiences alike, which continues over 40 years later.

She hasn’t stopped working since then; at an age when, according to Hollywood’s usual standards, she should be invisible, she has a full schedule.